Between 1855 and 1857 the newly-formed Compagnie de Touage de la Basse Seine et de l'Oise (TBSO) built seven iron-hulled "toueurs" ("warping tugs" connected to fixed chains laid along sections of the Seine and Oise rivers) at Hull. They were 100ihp, and named MALAKOFF, NAPOLÉON, SEINE (1855), OISE (1856), CRIMÉE, MONITOR and CHARLEROI (1857).http://www.walewski.org/upload/File/his ... n.pdf(page 3)

Anyone have any idea who might have built these?

This postcard photo may be this CHARLEROI (these toueurs seemed to have long lives). it was taken after 1898, when TBSO merged with another company to form Société Générale de Touage et de Remorquage (SGTR).

An interesting find, David.They don't appear on the full yard list for Earle's, who had started building in 1853.The only others that show up in my lists over 1855-57 are Martin Samuelson and Brownlow, Lumsden, the lists I have for them may not be complete so they are possibilities .... but could equally have been from some other small builder not yet found!

I have searched the online newspapers of the day and cannot find anything about these tugs. Unfortunately the Crimea War was on at this time and many of the tug names throw up over a 1000 hits, mainly related to the war. What I did find and it could be a total herring rouge is the following article. But it may go some way to explaining why the tugs were built at Hull.

davidships wrote:Another building in iron at Hull around then was Thomas & Wakefield Pim.

I compiled a yard list for Thomas and Wakefield Pim about two years ago, I suspect I missed a few vessels for German or Russian owners, but I did not find any such as these. Brothers Thomas and Wakefield Pim (Pimm) were Quakers with connections to Waterford and the Malcomsons (Waterford SS Co) they went bust in 1856 or 1857.You will find a short history on http://www.humberpacketboats.co.uk/hull.html .

According to the Morning Chronicle, which was a London based paper, but quoting a Hull paper, the NAPOLEON was a screw steamer, but no mention of towing and she was a "sister" of others not mentioned in David's list. But . . .

The site that Wreckmaster refers to states that Samuelson built 8 tugs for France in 1863. So I have started to look at 1863 instead. I found this article in a review of Hull activity for 1862 which does not bode well for finding anything.